In a clear win for Ohio Democrats, incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown was re-elected to the U.S. Senate.
The race between Brown and Republican Senate candidate and Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel wasn’t close. The race was called by the Associated Press at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, after polls in the Buckeye state closed at 7:30 p.m.
Brown captured 50 percent of the Ohio vote, compared to Mandel who had 45 percent with 99 percent of precincts reporting at about 2:45 a.m. Wednesday.
At a Ohio Democratic Party election night watch party at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Columbus, Brown addressed the crowd after the announcement.
“Today in Ohio in the middle of America, the middle class won. Again, a few very, very rich people wanted to rig the system for themselves,” Brown said.
The incumbent said progressive forces “fought for a land of opportunity.”
Students attending a bipartisan watch party at the Ohio Union had mixed reactions to the news.
“I knew he was going to win,” said Alex Polivka, a third-year in international studies. “He did a really good job of tearing down Josh Mandel.”
Other students weren’t as happy.
“I’m very disappointed. I’m not surprised but I’m very upset,” said Cole Ledford, a first-year in political science and business. “I feel like he’s been a senator too long. He was good when he started but he’s been in term too long.”
The Mansfield, Ohio, native has held his Senate seat since January 2007 and started his political career when he held a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1975 to 1982. Brown served as Ohio Secretary of State from 1983 to 1991. He went on to serve Ohio’s 13th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, and was re-elected six times.
Brown will serve a six-year term alongside fellow Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman.
Mandel is a former two-term Ohio State Undergraduate Student Government president and current State of Ohio Treasurer. He was first elected as a House Rep. for the 17th Ohio District in 2006 and was re-elected in 2008.
Mandel made an appearance at OSU last month for a speech at a USG event, in conjunction with the OSU College Republicans, at the Ohio Union.
At the event, he told the crowd he wanted to bring in a “new generation of leadership in Washington.”
Reports that President Barack Obama won the election started surfacing around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday evening. The announcement came soon after the media started reporting that Obama had won Ohio’s 18 electoral votes. With 99 percent of the state’s precincts reporting at about 2:45 a.m. Wednesday, Obama won with 50 percent of the vote, leading Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney who captured 48 percent.

Kayla Byler and Dan Hope contributed to this article.